Omaha daily bee., 1887-07-16
he WAS ASLEEP.
Engineer Bowser Succumbs to Over
work aud Fails To Sec a Sirnal

Engineer Bowser Succumbs to Over.
work ana Fails to See a Signal.
LINCOLN, Neb, July 15.-[Special to the
BEE. The most terrific wreck known
in the history Of the II. & NJ. railroad
occurred four miles east of Lincoln early
this morning between the regular Omaha
freight coming west and a special fast stock
express eastward bound. The regular train
coming west was drawn by the Chicago, Bur
lington Quincy mOgul engine 42O and was
train No. 90 ON the company's time card.
Engineer Bowser was at the throttle and
Norton was conductor. The special east
bound from Lincoln was drawn by engine
ll5, Connolly engineer, and they had an
order OF thirty miles an hour with orders to
meet the regular No. 23 at HavelOck. From
Lincoln east tor sixteen miles the track is an
air line, straight as an arrow, and on the
open prairie the wreck occurred. So clear
was the night and SO plainly was every
thing visible that the night watch
man ON the tOwsr In the B. & M. yards saw
the glimmer of the headlights as the trains
came together and the conaagration that I'M
mediately followed.
When the trains crashed together the stock
train going east had nearly stopped, but the
regular bore down upon them without even
shutting off steam, and the men had barely
time on both trains TO jump for their lives.
The crash came on the edge of small bridge
and the mogul engine was hurled backward,
the first two cars behind it being thrown di-
rectly over the tank and upon the boiler OF
the engine. Fifteen cars were crashed and
smashed together upon the engines and upon
blaze. An eye witness says the scene was
beyond description. The head brakeman on
the regular, who was riding in the engine,
was caught in jumping and was re
We're We're crashed to chaos in the wreck and the
din was terrible. But almost on top of the
engine was car containing several horses
owner of the goods DIR. Reynolds and his
son, who were enroute from their home in
RoSeville, Ohio to Blaine county. In two
minutes after the crash this car with the
others was In flames and the two roasted in
the flames until hole was burned in the end
of the car through which they crawled out
more dead than alive. The two were brough I
to the city as speedily as possible and taken
attended TO by two physicians, and
lay In a precarious condition. Reynolds
himself was burned terribly, on one side the
flesh being fairly roasted and he was badly
burned internally from breathing ths flames.
The boy was burned on both arms
and on his breast and face, aud his recovery
Is doubtful. At p. IN. to day the physicians
reported the two as resting quietly. In the
midst of the lire at the wreck two cars OF
the tank line tina. were In the wreck ex-
ploded and filled the air with burning oil
that made of the wreck all efforts at work to
stop the flames utterly powerles }, and of the
fifteen cars that left the track thirteen burned
together with the woodwork on the mogu
engine and the bridge where the wreck oc
CURED. In addition to this POS hogs were
cremated. Twenty-Five head OF cattle wer,
either killed, burned, or had broken limbs
and tour horses persisted. This stock wa,
the property OF Ellis 4 Carton, of De Witt
MIR. Carton being on the train at the time o
the wreck. or the thirteen cars Of goods
burned, one was a load OF wall
papcr, another q car OF nails, and six other
were loaded with farm machinery, besides
the two oil cars that exploded and burned,
The question of blame for the accident Il
undoubtedly upon Engineer Bowser, OF III
Eest-bound train, and i was an oft repeate'
assertion that he, tog ether with the irelnai
md the forward brakeman, were all asleep il